First stop after leaving the farm was Devonport, a beautiful little city.
While the city centre is tiny its sunset was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.
I arrived in the evening and left early in the morning which meant that I was not able to discover too much. However, the walk along the beach, the lighthouse with the grassy area filled with Wallabies big and small are a big part of my memory of Tassie (this is what Australians tend to call Tasmania).
After that my travels brought me to Hobart. I spent about ten days in the area which I am going to summarise in the following paragraphs:
First day:
The first day was the 11th of December, the day I arrived. I arrived in the early evening and took some time to settle into my new hostel. The only area I walked to afterwards was the harbour, a beautiful area with fascinating statues, as well as Coles, as supermarket to buy myself some food for the daytrip I had plant for the next day.
Second day:
This day was mostly dedicated to Mount Wellington which I decided to hike that day. I just did one mistake… I did not pack enough to drink… What is important to keep in mind when going on a hike in Australia is that (unlike most hiking trails in Germany and Austria) there won’t be any huts to buy yourself something to drink. The philosophy over here is “bring what you eat and drink with you when you come and take it all home when you leave”. However, that did not stop me. I walked past several waterfalls on my way up (they were separate walks to the actual hikingtrail).
I was supposed to hike longer than I did, but the trail I had planned on hiking was closed due to fire control. If you are wondering what that means, it means that before each summer, Australians tend to burn certain areas so that if a fire occurs it can be kept under control easier. But even if though I took a shorter trail, I still spent 5 hours hiking through its nature. It was wonderful to be in nature for such a long period.
Although I kind of freaked out, when I saw my first snail crawling away halfway. I just saw the tail of the snake, but it still made me walk in caution, since I did not want to be bitten. I was also mostly alone on that trail which made it even mor important for me to be careful since I did not know how long it would take for help to arrive should an accident occur. In the end it was a memorable hike, especially because of the exciting paths that back than I considered scary. Like when I had to walk a path that looked like there had been a natural disaster happened just shortly before. I had to climb over stones that sometimes even shook since they had not been secured properly.
The view in the end was worth all the trouble for.
And I had picked a good day since it was not raining but instead rather hot.
Remember that I mentioned the water problems? Once I arrived at the top, I then was so thirsty and so worried to walk back down, that I hitchhiked down the mountain by asking an elderly couple if they would take me back to the bottom of the mountain. In the end they even drove me back to my hostel, where I than bought myself a long deserved hot chocolate. But the end of the trip did not mean the end of the day. That one I ended with a delicious pineapple sorbet, a new favourite sorbet of mine (right after raspberry of course).
Third day:
As if I did not walk enough the day before, I spent this day walking through several parks and a reserve. I had not planned anything and so I just enjoyed the unique design of each park and the reserve before ending the day with a 50% off pizza at my newfound favourite restaurant (The Brick Factory) in the city (I ate dinner there a couple of times.)
Fourth day:
This day was another very exciting daytrip, this time to the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary. This was the first out of many sanctuaries that I visited and therefore a great memory of mine. I saw multiple Australian animals in person and this close for the first time in my life. But my personal favourites where the elderly Tasmanian Devils,
the kangaroos,
and the blind and three-legged Echidnas.
Even though it is called a sanctuary and meant to be a temporary residential area for those animals, most animals there (at least for us to see) will not be brought back into the wildness again. Either because of incurable wounds or diseases like the blindness and the missing leg of the two Echidna in the sanctuary or because of the many positive interactions with humans that the animals experience, like the kangaroos that are allowed to be fed and patted by the humans that pay the entry fee. They are treated as if it was a patting zoo, however, I cannot complain. I too enjoyed feeding and patting these adorable creatures.
However, there is something truly special about this sanctuary. Not only for us humans, but also for the animals themselves. It has the only veterinary practice for wild animals in Australia.
Another interesting fact is that the Tasmanian devils, that are currently living in that sanctuary, were participants in a breeding program from organisations to ensure their protection from extinction. However, now that those devils are past breeding age, they were brought to the sanctuary to settle down and live their last few years in peace and without worries about predators.
Fifth day:
This day I went exploring again, taking a long walk past the Tasman bridge to the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens.
Shortly after I arrived in the garden, I bought myself some lunch. Salmon with vegetables and apple juice. Almost all the ingredients were produced locally, some of the ingredients where from the gardens themselves.
The gardens were beautiful, and I ended up walking about 2 1⁄2 hours through them. In the end, my favourite part was that throughout all this nature, there were also educational signs, from talking about local gumtrees to how to treat once own resilient garden. When it comes to the nature it did not lack on sceneries either. You can walk through the forest called oak wonderland or their Japanese garden and you can just embrace this nature, it’s wonderful.
The same day I also tried scallop pie (basically a vegetable pie with scallop (seashells flesh) mixed into it). It is a very good tasting traditional Tasmanian dish.
I also tried fried mushrooms for the first time as well
at a small little food-festival in Franklin Square (Street Easts @ Franco) that takes place in Hobart every year between December and April.
Sixth day:
I started of walking through the Salamanca Market in the morning, before visiting the MONA museum. It is a modern museum,
very abstract,
very beautiful. But also very expensive… However, if you are a citizen of Tasmania (or at least work in the area), it becomes cheaper and especially for those, I highly recommend visiting that lovely museum when around Hobart.
After that I went to the Nutgrove beach, closing the day on a very relaxed and happy note.
Seventh day:
Another day, another tour. This time to Bruny Island.
I had to get up early and was picked up almost right next to my hostel. I got up on the bus and together we were driven to the bay from where the ferry was leaving. With wind in my hair, I looked out to the water in hopes to see any animals, sadly to no avail. Once we were on the island we started driving, with the first stop being at a Honey shop, where we were able to try some honey which source are plants of the island.
They had a lot of different snacks made from their honey. I ended up buying a lollipop and an ice cream, both were very tasty. After the next stop was a lookout, very pretty, it looked like the island was just a wall in between to waters.
I also went to the beach right next to the lookout, very relaxing. Afterwards we drove to the rain forest part of the island, it was so interesting to take a walk through these woods. Although it was not exactly what I pictured when thinking about a rain forest. Yes, the trees were huge, but even though it was during summer, it wasn’t as hot nor as wet as I would have imagined it.
Before ending the trip, we went to three more places, another beach, a chocolate store, where original Bruny Island chocolate was sold… It was Good… and to a cheese tasting where I ended up buying some cheese for the same evening as well.
Eighth day:
This day I planned to visit a little city, but midway I realised that I would not be able to get to my final destination of the day if I did so and so visit another one instead where I only went on a small walk and ate some breakfast. After that I finally made my way to…… Port Arthur. I spend the night in a hostel and met an elderly French woman and a British girl (to whom I still have contact).
Ninth day:
To the French woman I don’t have any contact anymore, however she will not easily be forgotten, because she took my British friend and I to the historic site. If she hadn’t, we would have had to walk an hour with our luggage there.
When it comes to the historic site, the entry fee is not cheap. However, the information that you can gain by entering is outstanding. It is great how many old buildings are still standing, though some are vandalised from the time of the place being abandoned after the prison was dissolved and the place being made into a historic site. There also a lot of free short guidance through several buildings and areas. It teaches you deeper understanding, but it also reminds us that this is only a step into the right direction. This place was established, years later than it could have… People are starting to understand that it is important to talk about the past, but just like everywhere in the world, also Australia is trying to forget some of its past doing.
(Keep in mind that these pictures are only small insights, there was a lot more to see)
I got back to Hobart that same evening.
It was my last day there, because the next (tenth) day. I made my way to the airport early in the morning.
My flight was at 11:50. My flight to Melbourne however was just the start of my next adventure.
